The World in 2014

Pricing ebooks

Publish and be Kindled

CASSANDRA has possessed a Kindle (purchased by his ever-attentive wife) for more than a year—and it remains virtually unused. Is this because I am hopelessly behind the curve, too old to appreciate the wonders of modern technology? I trust not (after all, I have become an Apple addict, and so surely cannot properly be called a technophobe). My excuse is that I prefer the heft, the look and the feel of a "real" book. Still, I am clearly fighting against the tide of what will be history: in America ebook sales now account for more revenue than hardbacks (quite a feat given the relative cheapness of ebooks).

The big question is who will profit most from the ebook phenomenon, and, as The World in 2013 explains, the answer may come with a ruling this year from America's Department of Justice, which has accused Apple and several book publishers of colluding on prices—the alleged price-fixing being a way of combatting price-cutting by Amazon (maker of my unused Kindle). One analyst quoted by The World in 2013 reckons the DoJ case is flimsy. Frankly, I've no idea, but it's worth noting that last month Apple and four big publishers agreed a settlement with the European Union Commission that will stop them from targeting Amazon. My hunch, therefore, is that Amazon will retain its ebook supremacy. Whether that will be good for the book business in general is open to debate. As The World in 2013 mournfully concludes:

Some predict a future of fewer booksellers, fewer publishers and vast amounts of self-published dross, easily available on that brand new Kindle.

Readers' comments

Publishing is one of the least efficient, most wasteful businesses on the planet. Ebooks ought to be much cheaper than they are, and only publishers' desperation to protect their bad old ways keeps that from happening.

The CEO of the richest company in the industry (indeed in any industry) conspires with large suppliers to fix retail markups and ban discounting. He then tells his biographer, a respected journalist, about the conspiracy, and that the shared goal of the companies involved is to raise retail prices. How again is the antitrust case flimsy?

Any intelligent reader should be concerned about how changing business models are impacting high-quality publishing, but allowing giant companies to fix retail prices, or complaining about technology that lowers them, is not the solution.

Cassandra is,of course, welcome to avoid Amazon, as many people avoid Walmart or BP because of those companies' perceived social impacts. However, I'll keep treating my old eyes to large print on my Kindle.

The heft of a "real" book is one reason I prefer reading on a Kindle. The older I get, the less use I have for heft, and for 10-point type. There is a good reason many of the early adopters of e-ink ereaders like the Kindle were over 50, and that reason relates to screen readability and the ability to make every book a large-print book. Once e-ink screens broke the damn that had been holding back digital adoption (a lack of ebooks meant no one bought ereaders, and a lack of ereaders meant no one made ebooks), the tablet and phone users rushed into the water. Print may not be doomed, but it is shrinking.

I self-published a novel on Amazon and Kindle a few months ago, and it was a decision I do not regret. I had complete control of the editing and look of my book, I didn't have to wait for an agent to maybe sell it to a publisher, my royalty system is simple and straight-forward, and while I didn't have much marketing power, I had control over what I did do. I look forward to the development of a thriving and well-organized indie book scene that allows the good stuff to rise over the dross and find fans in the same way that musicians and filmmakers are able to do. I like the new publishing way.

Ebooks are more efficient to "produce" and "transport". If greater efficiency in the economy implies that specific intermediaries no longer add sufficient value, then we shouldn't mourn that fact. In any case there will still be a strong need for entities that help consumers avoid the worst stuff and discover the best.

My wife and I like books, so much that we now have some 80 meters of books and there is not much room for more. I just got a Kindle Paperwhite 3G which occupies very little space, has room for about a thousand books and it is sooo easy to buy new books, just one touch. I do prefer "real" books but the Kindle is much more practical.

TEXTBOOKS!!! Low quality (content) in elementary schools with different versions for various states are replaced frequently. A hugh cost to taxpayers. They could be cheaper originally and very easily modified with new versions.

There is a substantial difference between being a technophobe and merely not feeling compelled to jump on every technology fad that comes along. The latter just shows that you actually care about the usefulness of technology, rather than feel the need to "make a statement" by owning or using something that is (usually self-proclaimed) the "latest and greatest".

I expect that some form of electronic books will have a place in the long term. But I somehow doubt that paper and ink will disappear any time soon.

I have owned an e-reader for two years. With all the travelling I do, I find that it allows me to read more than I would otherwise. I love reading with it, especially because finding and getting new reading material is so simple.

As to the future of print, I see both pros and cons to a future full of e-readers and e-ink.